Mohammadu Buhari said he almost resigned as president because of the
\nenormity of challenges facing the country due to the fall in the price of
\ncrude oil.<\/p>\n
According to him, because of the fall in the price of crude oil which is
\nthe live wire of the economy, 27 states in the country could not pay
\nsalaries.<\/p>\n
President Buhari spoke at the presidential parley with the senior
\nexecutive course no 38 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic
\nStudies (NIPPS), Kuru at the State House.<\/p>\n
Buhari argued that he doesn\u2019t believe Nigeria spent billions of dollars on
\nfood and fuel importation as they are no evidence on ground to point to
\nthis fact.<\/p>\n
He said \u201cFor 16 years and consecutive government\u2019s of the other party and
\nyou know that there was unprecedented revenue realised, the oil projection
\nwhich can be verified was 2.1 million barrels per day. From 1999-2015 the
\naverage cost of each Nigerian barrel of oil was $100 per barrel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we came it fell to less than $30 per barrel and is now it is between
\n40 and 50. Actually I felt like absconding because 27 out of 36 states in
\nNigeria cannot pay salaries and we know they have no other source than to
\ndepend on salaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I asked any savings? I was told there was no savings, And I asked
\nwhat have you done on agriculture, power, rails, roads. Nothing. You know
\nmore than I do because you move around. I have not been moving around
\nsince after elections but you do, how many of the Trunk A roads are still
\ngood enough?<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many power do we have although there are some elements of sabotage. I
\nwas told the money was used to import food and fuel. I didn\u2019t believe the
\nanswer and I still don\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil now substantial number of people in the East eat garri and
\ngroundnut, in the West pounded yam, cassava, vegetables, in the north tuwo
\nwhich is made from any of the grains, millet, sorghum. They eat it in the
\nnight and warm it in the morning and eat it and take fura De nunu in the
\nafternoon. How many of those people can afford foreign food?<\/p>\n
According to him, the legislature dedicated 445,000 barrels per day and
\nthat is just 60 % of our requirements saying \u201d I said okay what of the
\n40%? The marketers that are bringing it just present documents, papers are
\njust stamped and monies are taken away adding that \u201cThis is the type of
\nthings that the Nigerian elites are doing for our own country. When you go
\nback look at your colleagues and encourage them to be truly Nigerians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buhari noted that poverty reduction and inclusive development have become
\npillars of his administration and very close to his heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very pleased that the Participants, through the able leadership of
\nthe National Institute of Management and the faculty members, have taken
\nthe task seriously, as is evident in the report presented. I congratulate
\nyou for painstakingly committing your time and energy to produce such a
\nvaluable policy-oriented report that will guide this administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have looked forward to receiving this report because it touches on one
\nof the fundamental problems confronting our nation. The Report comes at a
\ntime when our economy is experiencing a downturn and all efforts are being
\nmade by this administration to get our country moving again, Buhari said.<\/p>\n
The president pointed out that in the last one and half years of his
\nadministration, the economy has experienced some tough times, particularly
\nwith the decline in oil revenues, which has some harsh impacts on
\nNigerians at the grassroots.<\/p>\n
He stressed that it is also important to note that the economic recession
\nis not the making of this administration, but rather a consequence of bad
\nmanagement of the economy in the past couple of decades. Nor is recession
\nlimited to Nigeria \u2013 there are far, far worse cases than Nigeria.<\/p>\n
He asserted that \u201cWhatever the scale of the problem the important thing is
\nhow one tackles it. Accordingly, this administration is committed to
\nfinding lasting solutions to our economic structural imbalance.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us have faith in our great nation that we will come out of this
\nrecession vibrant and strong. I am glad that the report presented today
\nhas given us reason to keep faith in our ability to overcome our
\nchallenges.<\/p>\n
According to him, there is no doubt that poverty for decades has been a
\nmajor challenge to Nigeria as a nation despite the country\u2019s enormous
\nwealth.<\/p>\n
He lamented that several policies and programmes that have been
\nimplemented over the years, as rightly observed by the report, have not
\nbroken the cycle of poverty in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
He further stated that from the findings of the research by the
\nParticipants, it is evident that strengthening institutions is key to
\nreducing poverty and engendering inclusive development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is impossible for this administration to ignore the poor who made
\ngreat sacrifice to bring us to government. Ours more than any other
\ngovernment in the history of Nigeria is a people\u2019s government. We
\ntherefore must and we will keep faith with the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is in this light that I wish to declare the commitment of this
\nadministration to the Sustainable Development Goals, most especially to
\nending extreme poverty in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not going to be easy, but we are committed to dealing with the
\nchallenges in a decisive manner. Fortunately, the Report of the
\nParticipants has prescribed some concrete measures on how to reduce
\npoverty in the country, He added.<\/p>\n
President Buhari commended the efforts of the National Institute for
\nkeeping faith and moving Nigeria towards a better society.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Institute, even with the limited resources, was able to come up with
\nsuch a policy-oriented research findings. I want to assure you that the
\nFederal Executive Council will carefully study this Report and implement
\nall the practical recommendations\u201d He stated.<\/p>\n
During his remarks , Acting DG of NIPSS, Jonathan Juma said a lot can be
\ndone by the national institute if more robust budgetary support is
\nextended to it.<\/p>\n
According to him, for the Institute to operate as an \u201capex institution\u201d
\nand be at the forefront of relevant researches for national development ,
\nit is required to recruit and retain top level academics, very senior
\ntechnocrats and other experienced specialized experts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, I must confess to you that the national institute is
\noperating below its conceived capacity due to its inability to attract a
\nfull complement of requisite staff who would conduct research across broad
\nstrategic areas of national life and also impact new knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe financial situation of the national institute is precarious. The
\npayments for utility services are in arrears and worse still, we have to
\nlive with threats of litigation from numerous creditors. Operational
\nvehicles in the institute\u2019s fleet have aged and are a source of constant
\nembarrassment .<\/p>\n
We have looked inward and appealed to the generosity of individuals and
\ncorporate Nigeria for support and we are glad that some have responded
\npositively. However, a decisive presidential intervention for a
\nsustainable funding of NIPSS is urgently required\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mohammadu Buhari said he almost resigned as president because of the enormity of challenges facing the country due to the fall in the price of crude oil. According to him,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n